Fate

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

"Today we're going to be cleaning out the basement. Fair warning it's incredibly messy," John chuckled as he used the key to open the basement door. "Hope no one's claustrophobic."

"I think I'm about to be," Maggie frowned.

He pulled the door open and we all followed him down the stairs. The place was huge, and cardboard boxes were piled everywhere. How long had it been since this place was cleaned? I suppose it could explain why we were down here cleaning it today. When we reached the bottom, I paused briefly accidentally bumping into Zayn when I stepped back.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"It's fine."

He'd been quiet today and I wasn't sure if anything were wrong or if he just didn't feel like talking today. Alec hadn't let us work on our projects in class, but I didn't know if Zayn would've talked with me much if we'd been given the opportunity.

John opened a box before turning to us. "A lot of this is just old things that need to be thrown away. Just use the trash can and if there's anything you're not sure about, ask me. I'll be upstairs cleaning out some lockers if you need anything."

"You ever think he just lets us do all the hard stuff?" Maggie asked.

"He probably does," Liam agreed.

"Let's start cleaning," I said, going over and opening a box.

The four of us worked quietly to unpack and throw away most of the junk until I stopped. I pulled out a dusty yearbook from the year 1999. The year Mom graduated High school. Mom never showed me one and when I asked, she stated she never bought one. I blew off the dust and turned to Liam and Maggie.

"Look at this yearbook," I said, holding it up.

"99? Our parents should be in there," Liam said, coming over. Even Zayn had stopped working now from the other side of the room and focused on us.

"They should have graduated that year," I replied.

"Let's check it out and see if we can find them," Maggie said excitedly.

I opened the book and flipped through the pages of senior year. I stopped on a page at the very end of the list. Kenneth Young. My father. The boy in this picture looked nothing like the man I knew. He looked healthy and handsome. His green eyes were full of joy and his toothy grin infectious as his dark hair was slicked back only slightly. I'd often wondered why Mom fell for him. Looking at this picture helped me understand why. The man I knew now couldn't be the same one.

I felt like crying seeing the effects of what alcohol had done to him. He was an angry, violent, alcoholic. Something I'd never associate the boy in this photo with. Almost as if they were both two different. This boy was the father I could have had. I did have this father, but he was nothing like what he could be. Wow, what a difference.

"That's Kenneth," Liam voiced.

"He looks so different," Maggie said sadly.

"Yeah, he does. Now you know what alcohol can do to you. I just don't know why he picked up the bottle in the first place. If only he hadn't. Anyway, let's move on," I said as I turned to the first page.

The first face I found was James Anderson. Looking very much like the jock Miles told me he was back then and a lot like he still looked today in terms of personality. Joyce hadn't gone to this school and neither had Melinda's mom, Joanne.

"Hey, look, there's, Mom!" Liam exclaimed, pointing to a photo of a much younger version of Kaylin.

Her brown hair was long and flipped to the side, hanging over her shoulder as she smiled. She looked the same as she did now, just older and with shorter hair.